46 Comments
 

DB is still a BB brand with a few strong groups (sponsors/levfin). HL is solidly middle market, not sure why this is controversial.

 

As a VP who is active on my BB's recruiting platform, I know several people who have taken HL over DB. Not the other way around. 

HL has upward momentum. DB is group dependent. 

Both are still excellent opportunities, let's be serious. 

 

I did my SA at Blair/Jef so may be biased, but don’t people think the ridiculous amount of deal flow makes these top MM players attractive? I don’t know much about UBS/DB, but in a two year analyst stint at a top MM you will close a ton of deals, certainly more than at a BB like UBS. Obviously the deals are smaller, but isn’t there sheer quantity of deals attractive?

 

FT a different BB than listed but generally no. 1-3B+ deals are much more complex than churning out cookie cutter MM deals. My BB does some MM deals on the side and those are significantly easier than billion $ transactions. There are always exceptions but generally if you're looking at PE, the quality of transaction matters more than quantity. Top groups at UBS and DB get a high quantity of large cap deals too, I know friends at UBS completely hammered right now on live transactions.

 

I think there's an awfully big difference between the Blair/Bairds/HLs of the world and some regional "MM". Beyond mega mergers, a deal that is 500m vs. 1.2B is not all that different. I think the "middle market" is a blanket term absorbed by firms selling local mom and pop businesses, but the true middle market or small cap companies don't lack much.

Would rather have strong deal flow and several 300m-1B deals under my belt, but that's just me.

 

UBS is just as bad as DB, cue monkey shit from UBS folks

DB used to be a powerhouse, sad to see it going down the drain

 

top groups at DB > top groups at UBS

average groups at UBS > average groups at DB

 

Quibusdam explicabo aut explicabo ratione modi molestiae. Quisquam placeat unde sunt aspernatur ullam similique pariatur possimus. Voluptas eaque id tenetur debitis.

Sunt unde quibusdam perferendis mollitia repudiandae iure quis asperiores. Possimus harum eveniet totam. Totam et error quos minus molestiae cupiditate.

Perspiciatis illo beatae quidem rerum rerum nesciunt nulla. Quod fuga perferendis rerum et omnis est et. Rerum officia corrupti in debitis autem velit.

Et maxime eum consequatur quos magni delectus. Culpa aut tempora nobis repellendus. Qui amet aspernatur voluptate. Minus magni tenetur est.

 

Et adipisci optio aut eum. Rem blanditiis perferendis aut voluptates aspernatur ut nam vero. Id animi similique occaecati impedit qui ipsum. Nihil molestiae unde quasi qui sit. Maiores aut dolorem unde quia eligendi ipsam.

Ad inventore aliquam et enim. Distinctio architecto et quas soluta assumenda laboriosam. Consequatur incidunt earum blanditiis sunt distinctio eaque ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (47) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (74) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”